Adjusting mechanism for grain-drill furrow-openers



No. 752,618". PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904.

FETZER. ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR GRAIN DRILL FURROW OPENERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

922 i a WWW 1;- 11mm I 21 6 91 I g I. I snuanl'oz Witnesses I 23 o v V mI it PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904.

w. FETZER. ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR GRAIN DRILL PURROW OPENERS;

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

2 V VENTOR W1 TNESSES:

with dramas Patented February 16, d.

Farmer FFIQFW WILLIAM FETZER, OF ItIIDDIJETOI/VN, OHIO.

SPECIFICATIUN forming part of Letters Patent No, 752,618, dated February16, 1904:.

Application filed August 29, 1903- To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM FETZER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Middle, town, in the county of Butler and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjusting Mechanismfor. Grain-Drill Furrow-Open ers; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it ap-. pertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in graindrills,and particularlyto mechanism for lifting or depressing drills, furrow-openers, or hoesfor such grain-drills.

It consists in a lever mounted so as to operate in a plane parallel withthe hopper of a grain-drill or the like, means for raising or depressingthe furrow-openers of the device, and means connecting the lever withthe raising and lowering mechanism, the structure being such that anoperator may sit upon the hopper of a grain-drill and regulate theheight of the furrow-openers.

The invention also consists in certain other novel constructions,combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional Viewthrough a grain-drill provided with mechanism for controlling the heightof the furrow-openers, the section be ing taken at right angles to theaxis of the implement. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view showingmechanism for controlling the height of the furrow-openers in accordancewith the position of the operating-lever. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionthrough a drill, taken at right angles to the supporting-shaft thereof,the lifting mechanism being adapted for raising and lowering hoes. Fig.L is a detail edge view of the rack forming a part of this invention. 5is adetail view in perspective of the bell-crank lever employed inconnection with the operating-lever.

In the accompanying drawings I have illus trated my improvement asapplied to grain drill mechanisms and will describe the same inconnection therewith. The mechanism is so arranged that theopcratingdever may be if there be one on the drill.

Serial it). 171,286. (lilo model.) 4

readily grasped by an operator sitting upon the box or hopper of thedrill. It has been common heretofore to mount such operatinglevers so asto more in a plane at right angles to thefaxis oi the drill, making itdiliicult or practicallyimpossible to operate the same without gettingdown from the hopper or seat, In the present invention the lever isplaced in a plane parallel with the hopper of the grain-drill orparallel with the axis of said device, so that it can be easily reachedfrom a seat upon the implement and will in its various positions be solocated as to not interfere with the mo ve-.

ment of the operator or of the means for actuating the team.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the mechanism for controlling the height ofthe furrow-openers is located upon one side of the grain-drill hopper 1,preferably upon the rear side, the said mechanism being made up of arack plate or member 2, a lever 3, a bell-crank lever 4:, a pitman 5,and an arm or member secured to a rock-shaft which controls the heightof the furrow-openers '1'. The rack-plate 2 is bolted or otherwisesecurely fastened to the wall of the hopper 1 and is provided with anarm or projection 8, which extends downwardly and is secured at itslower end to a cross-bar 9 of the drill-frame. The rack-plate is thusfirmly braced in position and also acts as a brace between the hopperand the cross-bar. The rncleplate is formed with a toothed peripheralportion forming an approximately semicircular segment. The sectionalportion is provided upon periphery with. rack-teeth 10 and 11. The teeth10 upon one half of the rack are turned one way, while the teeth 11 uponthe other side oi the rack are turned in the opposite way. These teeththus have their inclined surface extending toward the center of therack, while their radial or vertical faces or edges are turned away fromthe center of the said segment. The lever 3 is preferably a straight oneand is pivotally mounted with the center oi the segmental portion of therack-plate as its fulcrurnpoint. The lever is formed with a latch 12,which is normally held against the periphery of the rack-plate 2 bymeans of a spring 13, secured to thesaid 1ever. A hand-engaging portion14 is pivoted to the lever and connected by a rod 15 with the said latch12 for raising it out of engagement with the teeth of the rack-plate 2.account of the formation of the teeth 10 and 11 the rack may be pushedeither direction from its central or vertical position without liftingthe latch 12 by hand, since the latch will slide over the inclined edgesof the teeth. Of course the latch engaging the radial edges of the teethwill prevent a return of the lever to its original position until thelatch is lifted out of engagement with said teeth. The bellcrank lever 4is pivoted at the fulcrum-point of the lever 3 and extends along thesaid lever a short distance, so that it may be rigidly secured thereto.In the drawings I have shown the bell-crank attached to the lever 3 bymeans of a bolt 16 passed through the lever, as clearly shown in Figs. 1and 2. By this construction the bell-crank 4 may be moved by theoperation of the lever 3. The bell-crank is preferably bent rearwardlyto a slight extent just above its fulcrum-point, as shown in Fig. 5,while its outlet end is still further bent rearwardly, so that the arm17 will be quite clear of the rack-plate 2 and there will be ample roomfor the articulating-joint between the bell-crank and the link 5. Thebellcrank 4 extends a sufficient distance to one side of its point ofengagement with the lever 3 to form an arm 17, which is connected by thelink 5 with the arm 6. The arm 6 is formed with a socket 18, adapted tofit upon the square shaft 19, and a cap-plate 20, also fitting upon saidshaft, is used to secure the lever tightly upon the said shaft.- Becauseof the rectangular shape of the shaft in crosssection and the fitting ofthe socket 18 thereon the arm 6 is capable of rocking the said shaft.The connection of the link 5 with the bell-crank 4 and the arm 6 is suchthat said link may accommodate itselfto the movement of the bell-crankand arm, which function in two different planes. The rock-shaft 19 isprovided with arms, as 21, which engage rods 22, attached to thefurrow-openers 7 for raising the same, and also engage springs 23 forforcing the said furrow-openers downwardly under a yielding pressure. Itwill be seen that by forcing the lever to one sidethat is, so that thelatch 12 passes over the teeth 10the rock-shaft 19 will be rocked so asto raise the furrow-openers out of engagement with the ground. In thisposition the device is in readiness to be moved to or from the field andthe lever will be low enough with respect to the hopper to be entirelyout of the way of the reins in driving and also out of the way when itis desired to open the top of the hopper and introduce new supplies ofmaterial. When it is desired to lower the furrowopeners at the place ofwork or operation, the lever is released from the teeth 10 and isbrought back to its vertical position. Itmay then be depressed upon theside of the segment carrying the teeth 11 a suitable distance and causethe furrow-openers to engage the ground and open sufficient furrows forthe plan-ting operation. The teeth 11 will hold the-lever in whateverposition it is placed and maintain a desired pressure upon thefurrow-openers. The lever when in this position will also be out of theway of the operator in driving the team and in passing from one end ofthe drill to the other.

The mechanism has been shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as applied to a drillhaving disks for furrow-openers; but it may also beapplied to otherstyles of drills or similar devices, and I have shown the same in Fig. 3as carried by a drill employing hoes. In this instance the rock-shaftfor controlling the position of the hoes is usually located in front ofthe hopper, as indicated at 24. With this construction I secure an arm25 to the said rock-shaft 24 and connect it by means of a link 26 withan arm 27, held by a horizontalv rock-shaft 28, arranged at right anglesto the rock-shaft 24 and passing beneath thehopper of the drill to therear thereof. The operating-lever, as 29, is preferably located at therear of the hopper and is firmly clamped, as at 30, to the rear end ofthe rock-shaft 28. A rack 31, similar to the rack 2, is employed; but inthis instance the said rack is secured to a cross beam or sill 32,carried by the frame of the drill. The rack 31 is also provided with twosets of teeth passing in opposite directions, as shown upon the rack 2,heretofore described.

In the construction just described the operation of the mechanism is thesame as above set forth with respect to the device illustrated in Figs.1 and 2 and the hoes 33 may be raised or lowered by operating the lever29. This lever may be operated by a person sitting upon the top of thehopper, or a footboard, as 34, may be provided, which is arrangedparallel with the hopper and to the rear thereof, but is supported fromthe frame of the drill by brackets or bars 35 in such a manner that itis comparatively close to the ground, as clearly shown'in Fig. 3. Bystanding upon this footboard the operator can easily manipulate thelever 29.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the use of a singlelever in connection with the furrow-openers of a drill, and it will beapparent that I may employ two or more levers for operating differentsets of furrow-openers, and when employing the footboard 34 the operatorcan move from one lever to the other as found desirable.

It will be evident that the device may be utilized for raising orlowering or exerting pressure upon furrow openers of various styles ofdrills and like devices without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The rack, with its teeth extending in opposite directions on each sidethereof, is preferably formed with teeth, as will be seen, of asaw-tooth shape for making it a simple and easy matter to force thelever in either direction without operating the latch by hand. It

such compactness the farmerwould have to go to the trouble of removingthe lever en tirely.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In agrain-drilling machine, asupporting-v frame, a hopper extendingtransversely thereof, furrow-openers, a rack on said hopper, a leverpivotally supported to swing transversely of said machine, and meansconnected therewith for raising and lowering said furrow-openers.

2. In a graindrill, a hopper, furrow-openers, and means for lifting anddepressing the furrow-openers, comprising a lever pivotally mounted uponsaid hopper, and movable in a plane parallel with the longitudinal axisof the said hopper, and a connection between said 'lever and saidfurrow-openers. 3. In a grain-drill provided with a hopper, mechanismfor raising or depressing the furrow-openers thereof comprising a leverpivoted upon a transverse wall of the hopper of the drill so that saidlever will drop behind the same out of the way when depressed in eitherdirection, and means for holding it in such depressed position.

A. In a grain-drill, a hopper, extending transversely thereof,furrow-openers, mechanism for raising or depressing said furrowopenerscomprising a lever fulcrumed on a longitudinal wall of said hopper, abell-crank carried thereby, a rock-shaft for moving the furrow-openersand means connecting the bell-crank positively with the rock-shaft.

5. A mechanism for lifting or depressing the furrow-openers of agrain-drill, comprising a lever pivoted upon the hopper of the drill,and adapted to swing transversely of the drill, a rack also secured tothe hopper, a latch carried by the lever for engaging the said teeth andmeans for communicating motion from the lever to the furrow-openers.

6. A mechanism for raising or depressing the furrow-openers of agrain-drill comprising a lever pivoted to one side of the hopper of thegrain-drill, a bell-crank carried by said lever, a rock-shaft for movingthe furrowopeners, an arm secured to the rock-shaft and a linkconnecting the bell-crank with the said arm.

7. A means for lifting and depressing furrow-openers for grain-drillscomprising a lever pivoted to swing transversely of the drill, a platepivoted adjacent to the lever, an arm projectinglaterally from the saidplate, means connecting the plate with the lever and means connectingthe arm of the plate with thefurrow-opener-operating mechanism.

8. A lifting and depressing means for graindrill furrow-openerscomprising a lever, a shaft carrying the same and mounted longitudinallyof the planter, a plate provided with a lateral arm and rigidly securedto the lever, a rock-shaft for controllingthe furrow-openers, an armprojecting therefrom anda link pivotally connecting the plate-arm withthe rock-shaft arm.

9. A lifting and depressing mechanism for graiirdrill furrow-openerscomprising a shaft arranged longitudinally of the drill, a lever mountedthereon, a bell-crank lever secured to the said operating-lever andconnected with the furrow-opener mechanism, a rack secured to the hopperof the grain-drill, an arm projecting therefrom and engaging the framingof the drill to brace the said rack and a sleevedog carried by theoperating-lever for engaging the said rack.

10. Inagrain-drill, a hopper, furrow-openers, lifting and depressingmechanism for said furrow-openers comprising an operating-lever, adaptedto swing transversely thereof,

.meanssecured to one side of the lever for operating the furrowopenersand means upon the other side of the lever for holding the lever in itsdifferent adjusted positions.

11. Amechanism for lifting and depressing the furrow-openers of drillscomprising a lever arranged to swing transversely of the drill,

means carried thereby for lifting and depressing the furrow-openers andmeans for holding the lever against rising when depressed in eitherdirection.

12. A mechanism for raising and depressing the furrow-openers ofgrain-drills, comprising a lever mounted directly upon the hopper of thedrill and arranged to swing transversely of the carrying-frame and meansconnecting the lever with the furrow-openers.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM FETZER. \Vitnesses: I

J. F. SULLIVAN, GLEN HANKINS.

